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Background information: ECOSOC Commissions and Committees

Article

To tackle the many and varied tasks in the social and economic fields, the General Assembly and ECOSOC established a number of commissions and committees. The following lists the main bodies established under ECOSOC auspices for this purpose:

Functional commissions and bodies with a global mandate for

statistics

crime prevention and criminal justice

population and development

social development

the status of women

narcotic drugs

sustainable development

science and technology for development

forests

Five regional economic commissions

Their task is to promote economic development in their respective region:

Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) based in Addis Ababa

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) based in Bangkok

Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) based in Geneva

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) based in Santiago de Chile

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) based in Beirut

Standing committees

Committee for Programme and Coordination

Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations

Committee on Negotiations with Intergovernmental Agencies

Expert bodies

Committee for Development Policy

Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Committee of Experts on Public Administration

United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

International Narcotics Control Board

Moreover, committees on individual issues are established on an ad hoc basis and additional bodies are created as required